FORMS OF BIRTH CONTROL IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES
Celibacy
Delayed marriage
Abortion
Minimizing sexual intercourse
Late weaning of young children and low % body fat are sometimes effective
Some primitive societies used barrier devices - roots, pods, animal intestines, grasses
Some societies had oral contraceptives - herbs, roots,
metals ---not too effective?
INFANT MORTALITY
Even if a child was born, there was no assurance that they would live until this century.
Disease
Malnutrition
Infanticide
In 18th cent.England women were not prosecuted for abandoning babies.
Many were found on the streets.
Many were put in foundling homes and abandoned - 80-90% died
China - girl babies were killed for centuries
Also India
Today, infanticide usually occurs under stress -
Mothers are often young
Women can bear up to 30 children.
Around the world, most don't bear even 10.
In the US, 6 out of 7 women have children.
In 1950 45% thought 4 children were ideal.
Most people don't want large families any more.
56% think 2 children are sufficient.
Women are having children at a later (late 20s - many in 30s) - reducing the population -
We have a zero population growth.
Children are expensive - they bring in no income.
In the past, peasants and rural landlords used child
labor
In most societies, women space children several years apart - four years or more.
Women with more economic resources tend to reduce their own birthrate.
Latin America some women resort to illegal abortions
to gain control of their own lives.
NON-MARITAL CHILDBIRTH
In 1500s and 1600s, a woman working as a servant in a wealthy household would often get pregnant byher employer, and then be dismissed. She had no chance of getting another job, and would become poor and might resort to prostitution.
In 1700s (US and England) half the brides were pregnant.
By 1800s it was less common.
Today ¼ of brides are either pregnant or have had a child.
1/3 of the brides aged 14-17 have a child within 8 months.
1/3 of all women are pregnant by age 19 --- 80% prior to marriage.
¼ get married before the baby is born.
In 1970s, ½ married before baby is born.
The chances of teen pregnancy are 5x greater than in other modern industrialized countries.
Teen pregnancies declined in 70s and early 1980s. But now is on the rise.
Lower education, lower income, more children during
lifetime.
One million nonmarital births each year in the US - 27% of all births
Women older than age 20 account for 2/3 of the nonmarital births.
2/3 of all black infants are born to unwed mothers
1/3 of all Hispanic
1/5 of all white babies
Some say that welfare accounts for it.
But changes in the late 1960s came too late to account for the upsurge in the early 60s and back to the1940s.
Some suggest that the black lower class is evolving
a family system that gives greater power to women by excluding
exploitative men.
USE OF CONDOMS/CONTRACEPTIVES
Condoms were used in the late 1800s. Their use was illegal in some states, and there was a public outcry against their use.
In 1965 US Supreme Court declared laws prohibiting birth control illegal - infringed on privacy rights
In 1960 the birth control pill and IUD (Intrauterine
device) were introduced.
Roman Catholic church still condemns birth control
Contraceptive use has spread worldwide.
Teens are slow to use contraceptives -often don't think of the consequences
Only ½ of females 15-19 used contraceptives the first time.
4/10 of males did not use contraceptive the first
time.
Half of the women in their 20s have not married
Those who are most active use contraceptions
Those who don't use contraceptives are less active, and have one partner
More religious are more likely to postpone sex, but
less likely to use birth control
Pill is the most common form of birth control
Surgical sterilization for woman is second (28%)
Condoms (15%)
Surgical sterilization for men (12%)
Diaphram (6%)
IUD (2%)
ABORTION AND MISCARRIAGE
Abortion is an option for those who get pregnant
In the 1970s it became legal in some states.
About 1.5 million abortions each year. (Births are 4 million)
Miscarriages and stillbirths are almost the same number.
54% live births, 21% miscarriages and still births, 23% abortion
Most abortions are on unmarried women.
65% of all premarital pregnancies (9% of marital pregnancies)
¼ of all abortions are teenagers
1/3 are in their 20s.
Half of the women who have abortions were using contraceptives of some kind.
US abortion rate is about average - same as Norway,
Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Far East
RU486
Taken within a few days of missing a -period causes the uterus to expel a fertilized egg.
96% effective, few side effects
In 1988 legalized in France.
Anti-abortionists opposed it in this country. FDA has not tested it.
Britain supplies it to foreigners for $500
There are more medical risks for older mothers - chances of Down's syndrome is 1/350
Amniocentesis = remove fluid and cells from the womb
on 16th - 17th week.
Infant mortality is a measure of a society's quality of life.
US has a high rate of infant death (10/1000) behind Japan, Canada, Australia, western Europe
Lack of nutrition and prenatal care for minorities.
Low birth weight babies (less than 5.5 lbs.) are at risk.
AA low birth weight is double that of whites.
CHILDLESS COUPLES
5% of all couples overall. Higher for college graduates - up to
14%
The most obvious reason is career.
More likely the woman pressed the man for that decision
Want to spend more time with their spouses.
America is pronatalist - childless couples are labeled deviant.
Couples who are infertile often feel that they are unsuccessful.
10-15% of the childless couples want children but can't have them.
Infertility rate is higher for those who delay childbirth.
In general it is declining.
ADOPTION
12,000 adoptions each year in US.
Half by relatives, half by non-relatives
1/3 of non-relatives through public agencies
1/3 through private channels
1/3 through private agencies
1) State agencies are the cheapest - but the waiting time is long - up to 7 years
Between ages of 25-50, heterosexual, married, established.
2) Private agencies - costs between $10-30,000 or more
1/10 is foreign-born child
Artificial Insemination is offered by many fertility clinics.
Between 200,000 and 1 mil children have been conceived through artificial insemination
Laws differ - in 22 states there are no laws about who the baby belongs to.
In vitro fertilization (fertilized in the test tube) is also possible.
Only 1/10 are successful. Many have multiple births.
Cost is more than $10,000
Surrogate Motherhood - husband's sperm is implanted in a fertile woman's womb, carried to term and
then given to the biological father.
Baby M - Surrogate mother refused to give up the baby.
The father won the rights, surrogate mother was given visitation rights.
Does class have to do with the problems??
MEDICALIZATION OF CHILDBIRTH
Before modern times pregnancy and childbirth were controlled by women.
In most societies this is the case.
Midwife = is someone who is with the birth mother.
For Thousands of years they performed births - and other things
Men could not, should not be present
Men accused midwives of being witches.
After 1828, childbirth began to be defined as pathological event that requires intervention by medical men
Using the authority of science, doctor's authority grew.
Forceps, pain-killers, became common.
During the Victorian days -women did not exercise, wore corsets, and were susceptible to diseases.
Physicians oversaw their childbirth process.
They were considered superior to the midwives - who were excluded from medical training.
Late 19th and early 20th centuries, doctors lobbied to restrict the practices of midwives, homeopaths,
chiropractors and others.
- sanitary conditions, control of pain, reduce infant child birth.
They exaggerated the dangers
Midwives were poor, and could not lobby in their defense.
By 1935 only 11% of the babies in US were delivered
by midwives.
Infant mortality and morbidity rates went up - higher than in Europe where ½ were midwife births
Today Midwife training is virtually the same as nurses training.
By law they can attend a hospital birth
But they are subordinate to the attending physician.
Lay midwives continue to practice illegally.
Only 4% of US births are at birth centers rather
than hospitals.
Increase in life expectancy is due to improved living conditions - not medicine.
Wholesale adoption of some medical practices have been proven unnecessary
Tonsillectomies, coronary by-pass surgeries, radical mastectomies, hysterectomies.
Doctors usually make pre-natal decisions based on medical model.
Use of forceps, amniocentesis, aseptic measures (enemas, shaved pubic area, draping, isolation), episiotomies (incision of perineum) pain control, electronic fetal heart monitoring, long hospital stays.
Labor inducing drugs are used. Births are scheduled at the doctor's convenience!
Cesarean births increased from 4% in 1964 to 20% today.
Previously it was thought that 90% of births were normal.
Prenatalists encourage the latest technological interventions.
There are more and more pre-mature babies being kept
alive.
Natural childbirth movement started as a response in 1950s.
Grantly Dick=Read and Fernand Lamaze developed preparation classes.
Shorter labors, lose less blood, require less anesthesia, have fewer operative interventions, more satisfied. Babies are healthier.
Prior to Lamaze, husbands were excluded from delivery room, isolated the infant after birth, long hospital stays.
Discouraged breast feeding.
1922 9/10 mothers breast fed babies.
1972 8/10 used formula
Researchers found mother's milk is more nutritious, contains antibodies, La Leche League
In 1990 more breast feed again.
SEX
During pregnancy it slows down, but for most couples in one study did not stop.
1/3 of the men said they were tempted to be unfaithful.
The majority of women took drugs in the end, although they didn't want to in the beginning.
Doctors were present during delivery for only 28% of the time. Husbands were felt to be helpful.
Some women (4%) did not experience severe pain at any time.
Others (12%) said that insertion of needles, etc
was more painful than the birth process.
Postpartum (month or so afterwards) is emotional upheaval.
Profound joy when the baby comes home - sort of a honeymoon.
After a few weeks, strains and disappointments set in.
Most had romanticized parenthood.
Some mothers get postpartum blues = depression, mood shifts, irritability, fatigue
Mothers are isolated in nuclear family households.
Women with babies are increasingly likely to be employed.
In the 1960s, women usually quit work when they got pregnant. Today they keep their job and take maternity leave.
In 1990,53% of mothers with 1 year old were employed. 68% of college graduates.
In 1960s, women who worked during pregnancy were likely to be poor.
1990s, 2/3 of first time mothers had leave from job,
many had paid leave.
1993 Family Leave Act - unpaid leave for those in big companies.
Paid leave for fathers is rare.
Birth of child leads to a more traditional division of household labor. Explanations:
1) Lactation, hormone secretion, physiological factors predispose women to caretakers
FAMILY REALITIES - PARENTS AND CHILDREN
18th and 19th century Christians thought that you should break the will of the child to save them from the
devil Fear the rod and cry softly
Strict obedience, swift physical punishment
Child should be dutiful and fulfill obligations. Love was secondary
Relationship was Instrumental (?)
Children were valued for economic contribution - on the farm, or sent out in labor
Many children died in childbirth, or of childhood
diseases.
1870-1930 the relationship changed.
Formal education, child labor laws, and affective individualism changed the relationship
In 1870 parents were compensated the value of the child if he or she died in an accident
In 1930 parents were compensated for emotional pain
at the death of a child.
Child rearing is more individual today than in the past.
Pre-industrial societies children spend less than half the time with mothers.
Fathers, grandparents, siblings, other women
In Europe 1500-1800, the community took a hand in shaping the individual
Relatives, community elders.
Events in the house were relatively public.
Today rules are made and broken by parents - no external
legitimacy
¾ of the women with school age children, ½ of women with pre-school children work.
Divorced women are about the same.
Caretakers - Father, relatives, daycare
Official centers - licensed, meet gov regulations for adults/child ratio, health, safety. Teacher tng
Homes (women with children take in additional children) - also licensed.
Church centers
Business child care centers.
1991 9% of women with preschool children could care
for them at their place of work.
Caretakers are poorly paid. 98% are women - earn less than parking lot attendants.
Turnover rate of child care centers is 40% per year.
Cost is high for working parents = $60 or more per week.
Poor families pay ¼ of their income on child
care.
Some women do shift work - or part-time work to care for children.
In 1991 42% of preschoolers had mothers who worked non=day shifts;
30% had fathers who worked non-day shifts.
1/10 of dual income parents have no overlap in their work schedules, so parents watch children
Flex time is another alternative
And part-time is an alternative - 4/10 working women, 1/10 working men are not full-time
Fathers take over child care when they lose their
job.
Baby boomers as parents has increased the number of children in the US
In 1990 there were 23 million children under age 6
School age children were 45 million.
Family Leave Act of 1993 - originally vetoed by Pres Bush, repassed by Congress, signed by Clinton
Mandates 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a baby or seriously ill family member.
Applies to companies of more than 50 employees
Canadian workers get 15 weeks at 60% pay.
Most European countries have that and more. They
also have state child care facilities.
MOTHERING
In the 1950s people thought that children would be disturbed unless they had a long, undisturbed relationship with their mother.
Studies show no harmful effects of children in daycare.
In fact, women are happier, so children actually do better
Employed mothers tend to worry more however. But money turns out to be more significant.
If husbands contribute, mental health of the mother is high IF both agree she should work.
So - a child needs someone, but not necessarily the
mother all the time.
Latch-key children do fine, if the mother is in touch by phone.
What they do with their time is the primary concern.
SINGLE PARENTS
1990 - 3/10 families are single parent families.
Feminization of poverty - many are female=headed household, that is low income.
Single father households are rapidly increasing too.
Many women were deserted, or terminated bad marriages (abuse)
Many are employed, but the wages are too low.
Some are on welfare Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Children in single parent homes sometimes provide
emotional support to the parent.
Studies show that men want to become involved in infant care, and are competent.
They are more rough, treat sons and daughters differently, and are more directive
Mothers are less directive, encourage more, do other things while talking with children
Fathers tend to spend 30 min to 2 hours a week on child care for preschool children.
Mothers are gatekeepers to men's involvement with
children.
Primary care fathers act more like traditional mothers!
One study suggests that shared parenting is threatening for women, because the father can be intimate
with the children easier than with her.
FATHERS
40% of children live without fathers
Divorce - 90% live with the mother
2/3 of children of divorced families had bad relationships with father
1/3 of non-divorced children had bad relationships with father
Child support payments are more likely if there is less conflict between spouses, and if father sees the children frequently.
Unwed mothers
1/3 of births are to single mothers
Both Divorce and Unwed mothers are increasing.
Parents define reality for the small child.
Kids are cute, so you can't help but care for them.
Parent-child bonding is a two-way street.
How to control children?
Material Reward - but then they come to expect a reward for being good.
Social reward - hug, etc. is a good method.
Punishment - Natural reaction is to fight back - so it encourages aggression? Used more in working class
Shame - Sitting in the corner, etc. Works best in dense societies
Love- Threatening to withdraw love leads to strong feelings of self-guilt.
Unconditional love - they are there whether the child
is good or bad.